Almost no one in this country is without some sort of plastic card. We have credit cards, bank cards, and cards allowing us some privilege, for example, to drive a car or to have access to a restricted location. Although all of these cards provide different functions and they are often used in different ways, they may all be considered identification cards and it is important to ensure that the correct person possesses the correct identification card.
These cards provide some of the most basic conveniences that most people now take for granted. Credit cards eliminate the necessity of carrying checkbooks or large amounts of cash. Bank cards give us access to checking and savings accounts when it is convenient for us, rather than when it is convenient for the bank. Other cards are our passcard into government services (e.g., Social Security cards, welfare cards, driver's licenses) and into large organizations or facilities (e.g., factories, military bases). The plastic card has become an indispensible component of modern life.
The biggest drawback to the use of such cards is that, when they are stolen or counterfeited, the entire society feels the effect. Credit card fraud costs consumers by requiring merchants to charge higher prices. Consumers also directly and indirectly bear the load caused by unauthorized use of bank cards, social security cards, and checks which are cashed using false ID.
There are still other costs to society from fraudulent use of plastic cards. The use of counterfeited identification to gain unauthorized access to locations or accounts has far-reaching repercussions. To minimize the counterfeiting of security cards, increasingly elaborate security systems must be developed adding to the inconvenience of such systems and increasing these costs.
The basic plastic card is no longer adequate either for identification or for security. Cards must contain additional information or identification to ensure that the proper person is using the card.
Identification cards that need the most security have some personal identification on them so that a thief of a card cannot simply use the card. One example of this is bank cards which usually require a unique user identification number. Although this system has proven effective, it does not stop theft by persons who know the personal number of the owner of the card. Also, it is unsuitable for widespread use because everyone cannot be expected to learn different personal identification numbers for each credit card, bank card, and security card.
Another solution is to include a photograph of the user on the card as is done on many driver's licenses and security cards. This too has been effective, but counterfeit cards can be made by replacing the pictures in stolen cards with other pictures.
A third solution to the counterfeiting problem is the inclusion on the plastic cards of a magnetic strip containing particular information unique to each user. If only a few of all the possible codes on the magnetic strip are valid, then it is difficult to know which code to put on the strip, and thus, it is difficult to counterfeit such cards. This system, however, does not stop a thief from using the card nor does it prevent counterfeiters from manufacturing fake cards because valid codes can be read from a valid card and used on counterfeit cards.
Another problem with the current plastic identification cards is that with their increased use, they are more susceptible to wearing out and are more likely to be exposed to a harmful environment. In certain work places identification cards come in contact with solvents which destroy the card. Cards can also be destroyed by exposure to extremes of temperature, a common condition at many military facilities. Even without the solvents and the temperature extremes, the practice of carrying cards in wallets, or their use in credit card machines causes the cards to wear out quickly.
Accordingly, one object of this invention is a durable tamper-proof proof identification card which cannot easily be counterfeited.
Another object of this invention is an identification card with multiple information fields which can be compared with one another to ensure positive identification of the bearer of the card.
Yet, another object of this invention is to provide an identification card that can be used to access additional information in a computer system.